Welcome to the Future
Range Rover & SHARP
You’d have to be living under a rock to have missed out on all the furor about artificial intelligence (AI) of late. Even if you wouldn’t describe yourself as a tech-savvy person, you’re likely already utilizing more AI services than you’re even aware of — and, at this point, it’s possible you’d feel completely lost (sometimes literally) without them.
We’re gathering information from sources like Siri and ChatGPT; marvelling at the spot-on product recommendations during online shopping; and getting real-time construction, accident or speed trap travel notifications in our vehicles. Some people might even consider their smart home devices more reliable than their friends — after all, they’ll tell a joke on demand, memorize your evening lighting preferences and never forget your birthday. We even used them to illustrate this story. (Can you tell which ones are AI…?)
The Artificial Intelligence Network is an operation established to unify, organize and catalyze the AI and Machine Learning communities in British Columbia in order to establish the province as a national and global leader in AI by 2025. Executive Director Steve Lowry says he’s always keeping his eye on AI services that are making our everyday more effortless and, in some cases, downright fun.
“The new DJ feature on Spotify is simple yet quite helpful and fun,” he says by way of example. “It’s one less thing to think about — a good jam to put you in the right mood.”
And it’s that idea — one less thing to think about — that’s really driving the adoption of AI. (And, in some cases, driving you. Lowry notes how in-vehicle AI services are providing improved decision-making, “so long drives to the cabin this summer can be safer.”)
Not only has AI wormed its way into making essentially every aspect of our lives more convenient, but it’s done so in a way that we’ve barely noticed. Most of us didn’t need to take a special course or read up on how to use them — these technologies are driven by intuition, so a low barrier to entry is a given.
Which makes us wonder: with this amount of ease and convenience already baked in, where do we go from here?
For starters, Lowry is seeing some exciting trends emerge that could reveal important insights into what the future of AI holds — maybe not all of them as earth shattering as science fiction shows might suggest.
For example, consider the humble dating app. “Everyone on dating apps knows it can take a long time and a lot of swipes to meet your match,” he says. “Apps are now offering AI dating, so the app does more of the work for you. Snack, for example, enables your avatar to go on a virtual ‘date’ for you, and the rumour is that Bumble will enable avatars to go out with each other to tell their respective users if it’s a match.”
But it’s not just dating apps that are on the quest for a new way to find the perfect match. “There’s a fair bit of activity in the AI food space, too,” he offers. “A Vancouver company, Sipply, is developing an app for expert wine pairings where the wine is automatically delivered to you.”
As Lowry looks into his crystal ball, he’s got some predictions about how AI will grow. “Within a year or two, I think most people will rely on a voice-enabled AI assistant like ChatGPT to help guide their daily life,” he says.
And he sees big moves for the automotive industry, in particular. “In perhaps five years, autonomous driving will start to become commonplace. New protocols, such as V2I (Vehicle to Infrastructure communication), are being developed to set the stage for a safe driving future. In the long run, computer drivers will be far safer than human drivers,” he says.
As for AI’s own autonomy? “At some point in our lifetimes, we will see some form of AGI [artificial general intelligence], essentially generalized AI that can reason and think through problems as well, or better, than humans. This will open up a whole new way of living. Some suggest it will be here as soon as five years, but that feels a bit optimistic,” he says.
“Let’s touch base in five years and see.”
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